Theme Park

PhotographerSeo junyoung

PrizeHonorable Mention

City/CountrySeoul, Korea, Republic of

Photo Date2016

Story

Artist biography
Junyoung Seo was born in Busan, South Korea. Majoring in architecture and beginning taking pictures since 2001, he started to be interested in documentary and photo journalism after he met Mr. Hong-hee Kim in 2007, who was chosen as the worldâ€™s 20 photographers by Nikon.
Explain work - MASTER KIM HONGHEE
He's Theme Park juxtaposes, or arranges in time order, the images of zoo animals with the photographs of salarymen whose lives are confined to being a salaryman by all measurements. By doing so, the images of the zoo animals and salarymen naturally overlap.
The thing is, the zoo animals unanimously appear to be suffering from bottomless desperation, while salarymen are hovering in between the realms of desperation and hope. Or, perhaps, it is a
wriggling gesture to forget their desperation.
The earth's strata is the result of tens of thousands of thousands of years. We are very familiar with the fact that the structure of that strata rarely changes. Junyoung Seo seems to have discerned that a theme park is about capital wrapped in the blanket of â€œhappy us.â€
Now there is only one theme for him. That is whether he takes delight in living in desperation or lays bare the fact that having hope is meaningless.
Artist note
A zoo is an entertainment space.
In the early 19th century, rhinos were confined within a concrete enclosure in the name of preserving wild animals, and such a facility was called a zoo. However, now 200 years later, wild elephants are still kept within concrete enclosures. Animals with prosperous fertility are treated as surplus animals, being killed or sold off. Animals born within the concrete jail never see a jungle and die therein.
In such conditions, they are no longer animals but marionettes.
After a baby is born, we always take them to a zoo. We happily show them the animals that they saw in a picture book. As my father did for me -â€œthis is a lion and that is a tiger.â€ It is much more efficient to show children a picture book. Yet, what a child sees is the animalsâ€™s tereotyped behaviors. Children only get to see animals in captivity, their self-comforting and self-tormenting behaviors, such as strolling back and forth behind the bars or licking themselves. We laugh and
talk with our children while watching animals going crazy.
Humans are also reproduced and trained to meet expected social standards and productivity. They become salarymen who are confined within the concrete of a social norm. Salarymen are confined, controlled, and reproduced. Humans repeat stereotypical behaviors as well but in different realms and with different cycles. Salarymen are mere tools of society for production.
I can no longer go to a zoo. One day when I saw a monkey and clicked the shutter of a camera, the monkey mocked me. From that day on, a monkey puts a camera on me. I became a monkey outside the confinement of a theme park.
I even became a marionette for monkeys.

Entry Description

There are two plots in this book. One is a salaried workers. The other is the story of animals trapped in cages. Two stories show anger and depression. These two stories are linked together.
I made this book to criticize the social system. Because I am salaried worker too.
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In the early 19th century, rhinos were confined within a concrete enclosure in the name of preserving wild animals, and such a facility was called a zoo. However, now 200 years later, Animals born within the concrete jail never see a jungle and die therein.
Humans are also reproduced and trained to meet expected social standards and productivity. They become salarymen who are confined within the concrete of a social norm. Salarymen are confined, controlled, and reproduced. Humans repeat stereotypical behaviors as well but in different realms and with different cycles. Salarymen are mere tools of society for production.

Story

Artist biography
Junyoung Seo was born in Busan, South Korea. Majoring in architecture and beginning taking pictures since 2001, he started to be interested in documentary and photo journalism after he met Mr. Hong-hee Kim in 2007, who was chosen as the worldâ€™s 20 photographers by Nikon.
Explain work - MASTER KIM HONGHEE
He's Theme Park juxtaposes, or arranges in time order, the images of zoo animals with the photographs of salarymen whose lives are confined to being a salaryman by all measurements. By doing so, the images of the zoo animals and salarymen naturally overlap.
The thing is, the zoo animals unanimously appear to be suffering from bottomless desperation, while salarymen are hovering in between the realms of desperation and hope. Or, perhaps, it is a
wriggling gesture to forget their desperation.
The earth's strata is the result of tens of thousands of thousands of years. We are very familiar with the fact that the structure of that strata rarely changes. Junyoung Seo seems to have discerned that a theme park is about capital wrapped in the blanket of â€œhappy us.â€
Now there is only one theme for him. That is whether he takes delight in living in desperation or lays bare the fact that having hope is meaningless.
Artist note
A zoo is an entertainment space.
In the early 19th century, rhinos were confined within a concrete enclosure in the name of preserving wild animals, and such a facility was called a zoo. However, now 200 years later, wild elephants are still kept within concrete enclosures. Animals with prosperous fertility are treated as surplus animals, being killed or sold off. Animals born within the concrete jail never see a jungle and die therein.
In such conditions, they are no longer animals but marionettes.
After a baby is born, we always take them to a zoo. We happily show them the animals that they saw in a picture book. As my father did for me -â€œthis is a lion and that is a tiger.â€ It is much more efficient to show children a picture book. Yet, what a child sees is the animalsâ€™s tereotyped behaviors. Children only get to see animals in captivity, their self-comforting and self-tormenting behaviors, such as strolling back and forth behind the bars or licking themselves. We laugh and
talk with our children while watching animals going crazy.
Humans are also reproduced and trained to meet expected social standards and productivity. They become salarymen who are confined within the concrete of a social norm. Salarymen are confined, controlled, and reproduced. Humans repeat stereotypical behaviors as well but in different realms and with different cycles. Salarymen are mere tools of society for production.
I can no longer go to a zoo. One day when I saw a monkey and clicked the shutter of a camera, the monkey mocked me. From that day on, a monkey puts a camera on me. I became a monkey outside the confinement of a theme park.
I even became a marionette for monkeys.